TOne view on loo: toilet

By Casey Neill
A BELGRAVE man has kicked up a stink over plans for new public toilets, claiming the community doesn’t want them.
Terry Clinton has vowed to take his fight against the toilet block in Belgrave’s main street to Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal after Shire of Yarra Ranges councillors last week approved the new loos.
“I’ll exhaust every avenue we can. They haven’t consulted the public about it,” Mr Clinton said.
“It’s not right. They can’t keep going against the people.”
However, Lyster Ward councillor Samantha Dunn said there was extensive community consultation, including a steering committee and notices on the existing toilet block.
“It has been very clear what has been planned,” she said.
“We have listened to objections and changed the design.”
Cr Dunn said the existing toilets were disgraceful, dangerous, disgusting and rank.
“I think once the new toilets are built, people will be all embracing,” she said.
The toilets, located next to Bronco Bjelan Pharmacy, were scheduled for upgrade under the Yarra Ranges Public Toilet Strategy.
The current design is considered unsafe due to limited visibility from the street. The $160,000 overhaul will include one designated male cubicle, two female cubicles and a unisex disabled toilet with baby changing facilities. Users will share a common foyer area.
The shire received 20 written objections against the initial design, which faced away from the street and was entirely unisex. Council representatives, objectors and a Victoria Police safety expert met on 21 May to discuss concerns and an alternative design was drawn up.
“It was agreed that the toilets would be redesigned to pick up on people’s suggestions,” shire spokesman James Martin said.
“The intention of the toilet redevelopment is to create a safer, more accessible and family friendly toilets for the town.”
The revised design was formally submitted on 10 June and readvertised to the public. Several councillors noted unisex toilets had curbed anti-social behaviour in their wards. Ryrie Ward councillor Jeanette McCrae disagreed with that and added a number of other issues needed to be addressed.
“The first local residents seemed to know about it was when the notice was put up,” she said.
“I would like this to go out for true community consultation.”
She was also concerned about a mural painted in the early 1990s being lost. The painting is not considered historically significant and will be documented in photographs.